This application is the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/GB98/00284, filed Jan. 29, 1998.
The present invention relates to two-component shelf-stable packaged food products, methods of manufacture thereof, and use thereof in the preparation of foods.
Some two-component packaging formats are already known. For example, it is known to provide thermo-formed plastic trays having two or more recesses for receiving different food products, the trays being sealed by a thermally bonded membrane across the top of the recesses. However, it is not economic to thermo-form glass containers into complex shapes of this type.
It is also known to provide packages in which two food products in the semi-solid or gel form are packaged separately, but in physical contact in the same space. One example is the packaging of fruit yogurts in which a carton has a layer of fruit jelly in the bottom, and a layer of yogurt is provided on top of the fruit jelly. Another example is the packaging of peanut butter and jelly together in a single jar. Such arrangements have hitherto only been used with non-shelf-stable products such as yogurt, or with shelf-stable products such as peanut butter or jelly that do not require heat stabilization to render them shelf stable. Such products would undergo degradation and mixing if they were heated to 90xc2x0 or above to render them shelf stable.
It is also known to provide a packaged pasta sauce comprising a layer of acid-stabilized vegetable pieces, such as chopped olives, on top of the sauce in a glass jar, providing an attractive visual appearance. Such xe2x80x9cstir-inxe2x80x9d arrangements are intended only to provide an attractive visual appearance on the shelf, and are not suitable for use in a two-step cooking process. The chopped vegetables are merely mixed into the sauce when the sauce is poured from the glass jar and reheated. Any attempt to cook the acid-stabilized (pickled) vegetables separately gives a product having very poor organoleptic properties.
It would be especially desirable to provide a two-component sauce package, such as a two-component pasta sauce package. Such a package would preferably comprise a water-based component containing water and aqueous components such as tomato paste, salt, sugar etc., packaged together with an oil-based component, preferably containing chopped vegetables, such as onion or garlic and/or meat. These chopped pieces present in the oil could then be fried initially to accomplish high-temperature flavour development and browning reactions required for vegetables and/or meat, prior to addition of the water-based components to complete preparation of the product. This contrasts with existing packaged shelf-stable sauce products, most of which merely contain raw or blanched vegetable pieces in an aqueous tomato base, the base and vegetable pieces being heated together when the sauce is reheated prior to use. Such sauces do not usually have the desirable xe2x80x9chome-cookedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9crestaurant-qualityxe2x80x9d organoleptic properties of a sauce prepared by sequential frying and mixing steps, as described above.
It would also be desirable to provide a two-component marinade product, wherein the first component is a conventional meat or vegetable sauce and the second component is a marinade. In use, the marinade will be applied first to a food product, preferably meat. After the food product has been marinated, it would be mixed with the first sauce component for further cooking.
Packaged sauces are generally required to be shelf-stable. That to say, the packaged product should be capable of storage at ambient temperature for at least one month, preferably at least 3 months, and more preferably at least 6 months without significant spoilage. In order to achieve this, it is necessary for the food product to be packaged in a substantially oxygen-and micro-organism-impermeable package, such as a glass jar. It is also necessary for the food product to be sterilized or acid pasteurised. Sterilization refers to autoclaving the food product at a temperature above 120xc2x0 C. for at least five minutes, and usually also requires rotational mixing of the packaged product. Acid pasteurization refers to treating a food product having a pH of 4.5 or less, preferably 4.3 or less at a temperature of at least 80xc2x0 C., preferably 90 to 95xc2x0 C. for at least about five minutes. Acid pasteurization does not require rotational mixing of the packages, but may require acidification of the food product with a food-acceptable acid such as lactic acid, citric acid, alginic acid, acetic acid, or the like to achieve the necessary pH.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a shelf-stable two-component packaged food product, such as a sauce, in which the two components are packaged in the same container space; and which allows the first and second components to be used in combination for sequential food preparation steps.
Preferably, the product is a sauce, such as a pasta sauce, a rice sauce such as a risotto, a meat sauce or an oriental-style sauce. The product may also be a soup.
The present invention provides a two-component shelf-stable packaged food product comprising: a container having substantially rigid walls and an opening for filling and emptying the container; a first food component filling a first region of the container remote from the opening; a second food component different from the first food component and filling a second region of the container adjacent to the opening; wherein the second food component either directly contacts the first food component or is separated therefrom only by an edible interfacial layer, and wherein the second food component can be decanted off the first food component through the opening, the second and first food components being adapted for use in combination in sequential food preparation steps.